Brian Ivers recently sent me another battle report of a WWII game he ran using Combat Patrol(TM). It is posted here with his permission. Thanks for an entertaining read, Brian, and thanks for the kind words about the rules. Enjoy!

The game is set on the outskirts of Arnhem on 17 September.

General Roy Urquhart, Brigadier Lathbury, and Capt Jim Cummings are holed up in a house in the town. Brig Lathbury was shot and being cared for by a family. Jim and Roy are in an attic avoiding capture by Germans searching house to house. An Elite British Para squad is tank hunting a couple of rows down from General Urquhart. This squad has no idea the general is there.

The scenario is 10 turns. The objective is to get General Urquhart out and back to his HQ “Before we have a bloody disaster on our hands!” The Germans have a regular infantry platoon in the town. There is 1 PZ IV with a squad of Elite Panzer grenadiers. Located at the crossroads to the West, is a Green training unit with a Pak 38 ATG. There are two teams supporting it with an MG 42.

The British have a scratch platoon of Regular Glider pilots, 3 teams; there is 1 team of Elite Paras and two jeeps carrying a 6 lb gun with Elite glider infantry.

The Germans move randomly with the bayonet symbol on their cards, until they hear firing. (On the Action Deck cards in Combat Patrol, there is a bayonet symbol that points in one of eight directions. This is used to scatter indirect fire, grenades, etc. In this case, Brian is a also using the bayonet to randomize German movement.) The General will activate on blue numbered cards, once a card is drawn a dice is thrown if it matches the blue card the general activates.

The Game Master card is shuffled into the Activation Deck. When the Game Master card is drawn, the game master will roll for reinforcements, doubles needed on 2d6. The Random Events card is also shuffled into the Activation Deck. When this card is drawn, random reinforcements are generated There are only two which synch with reinforcement card. Odd number dice roll = German, Even = British.

The “?” markers in this picture indicate German forces of unknown composition.

The training squad of Germans is just setting up their gun because there is some rumor of British paratroopers landing nearby. Sgt Hans Gruddelmann thinks it’s a drill of some kind.

Two teams of regular German infantry are searching house to house for British paratroopers. Lt Wolfgang Dinkle is at the town center, talking with the PZ IV leader, Sgt Fritz Bayer, directing him to get a move on to the road junction to support those green Hitler youth kids.

Fritz pushes down the road at a slow speed; his SS Panzer Grenadiers stay behind in the town.

Capt “Ginger Megs” Porter is in the lead jeep pushing towards the outskirts of the town. He was ordered to get in contact with the lead unit moving towards the bridge and see if they have seen General Urquhart.

Cpl “Tubby “Dawson has a flame thrower and PIAT team with him, and he is looking for trouble.

The Jerries are rounding the corner and are about to discover the Paras. Pvt. Dolcie Blankfetty readies his flame thrower as his mate “Jacko” turns on the regulator.

Dolcie lets fly and sends a jet of flame towards the German patrol, “Jacko you knocked my arm, you stupid bastard.” (Note: The yellow die indicates the number of charges left in the flame thrower.) (Also note the clear plastic flame thrower template available from Sally 4th.)

Two advancing Germans erupt in flame as their screams warn their comrades behind the hedge.

Meanwhile back at the cross roads, Ginger has his hands full with a MK IV heading his way.

“Out of bloody ammo!” Lt Harry Liles swears. The green bands indicate an out-of-ammunition result, as he attempts to kill the crew trying to man their anti tank gun.

Tubby assaults through the hedge and runs into another team of Jerries — half of the first team he had just fried with the flamethrower. The black dice indicates the German team to his left is pinned because it lost its leader.

At the cross road, the Para team flanks to the left of the tank crossing the road. They all throw grenades and get lucky as fritz and his crew bails out losing three crew members.

Liles team captures Fritz. Two green team of Germans catch him in a crossfire: one holding a farm house and the other a pig sty.

The team loses one Para dead and another wounded. A Glider pilot team pushes to the MG 42 Pig Sty position and hocks Mills bombs into it. They miss, and the MG eats up the Paras in front of them.

Meanwhile Liles draws cards to get rid of morale pipes, indicated by the green die, and ends up having to charge the MG42. He loses a man immediately, and another is wounded. The next wave of grenades kills the MG.

Tubby sent the PIAT team to the end row house, and they engaged another team of regular Germans pushing towards the sound of the guns.

General Urquhart and Capt Cummings draw the right card and decide to make a move.

He runs into Tubbies team. “Well done laddy!” says the general to Tubby. “We thought you were dead, Sir,” he replies. “I can assure you it was an error… Corporal, I need a Jeep,” The general responds. (Six turns have passed, and the general needs to exit the western map edge.)

Lt. Dinkle has a team of regular German infantry, which a Game Master card gifted him the turn before. He commits it to where the sound of fighting is coming. There is a German MG42 team in a house where the “?” is located. There Germans open fire on the British as they head to cross the road with the general.

A brief fire fight ensues, with the Germans getting the worst of it.

A jeep arrived from Ginger’s team and picks the general up. “We’ve only got two bloody turns to get off the map. For heaven sake, put your foot down Ginger!”

What’s left of the Paras and mixed glider troops keep the Germans busy near the cross roads, mopping up the trainees.

The Jeep carrying the general makes it off the map with a turn to spare.

Post script. This scenario was based on the scenes in the movie. We had a great time with this and a lot of fun things happened. The assault by Tubbies’ team on the closing Germans was spectacular; the flame thrower was very entertaining. The British player was super aggressive. This was the difference in the game. The Germans had bad luck with morale cards, but it seemed like the British were always pulling the out-of-ammo result when they fired. The fighting in the city was ferocious, and multiple melees made it a close run thing. Being able to pin and suppress the German forces was a key factor in getting the Jeep in and out to save the general.

The close assault on the tank was one of the coolest things we have seen since playing the game, as was Liles assault on the MG42, which was successful. Combat Patrol(TM) by Buck Surdu is an amazingly adaptable rule system, where individual actions are easily transferred into game play by the use of the cards. I highly recommend this rules system.

This entry was posted by Buck
on Wednesday, May 9th, 2018 at 11:44 and is filed under Wargaming.
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